Hannah Stuart: Forced marriage should be a crime

Forced marriage should be a crime

Honour crimes have received increasing media attention in recent years. Britain’s version of Hardeep Flora — the 19-year-old Canadian dramatically rescued from a forced marriage in the Punjab by the Canadian consulate in 2009 — is Heshu Jones. But 16-year-old Heshu was not as fortunate as her Canadian counterpart: She was stabbed to death by her father because he disapproved of her boyfriend. Heshu’s case was what prompted the U.K. to start taking honour crimes seriously.

Canadian policy-makers will be watching the latest developments in the U.K., where the government has just ended a three-month consultation on forced marriage. Currently, individuals can apply for civil protection orders that prevent family members from forcing anyone to go abroad to marry. But in the U.K., as in Canada, forced marriage is not a criminal offence in and of itself. The police can only prosecute individuals who commit other crimes — typically assault, kidnapping or sexual offences — in the course of forcing someone to marry.

Criminalization is the most contentious aspect of the British consultation. Practitioners and victims remain divided: For some, it would send a strong message that forced marriage will not be tolerated; others worry it will drive the practice underground. In 2005, British ministers concluded that criminalization would be “resented as an intrusion into minority cultures and religions.” But last May, a specialist parliamentary committee took the side of criminalization, arguing that it “would send out a very clear and positive message to communities.”

Perhaps the most persuasive anti-criminalization argument is that it will deter vulnerable people from reporting that they are in danger, for fear of criminalizing their parents. However, in Denmark — where forced marriage was criminalized in 2008 — women’s refuges have reported an increase in demand. “It has in no way been our experience that young people have stopped seeking help because of this law,” a spokesperson from LOKK, an umbrella organization for women crisis centres in Denmark, said.

Last year the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organization reported that the police had seen a staggering 57% increase in honour crime between 2009 and 2010. In London alone, it doubled to more than five times the national average. Does that mean honour crime is increasing or that people are coming forward more readily? I suspect it’s the latter — speak to anyone working in the field and they’ll tell you these figures are just a snapshot, and that it’s been happening for a lot longer than society would like to admit.

In Canada, as in other nations, the criminalization of forced marriages would supplement victims’ options. Moreover, there is a growing realization that in honour-related cases, exaggerated attempts to accommodate cultural sensitivities are not only often misplaced, but can be dangerous.

Unfortunately, women’s rights campaigners say that schools are reluctant to educate people about the issue, primarily because they are frightened of appearing racist or offending parents. Some teachers do report children’s concerns about being taken abroad to marry against their will. But too often, they make these reports to parents, not to the authorities.

We should be clear about what is acceptable in our society and what is not. Societies draw moral codes from their legal systems, and we need to be clear that those at risk from honour crime deserve the same rights and hopes as everyone else. Ultimately, the decision to criminalize should not be based on how many successful prosecutions there may or may not be, but how effective it would be at eradicating the social legitimacy of forced marriage.

Almost 30 years ago, Canadian courts recognized that marriage does not presume sexual consent — yet individuals still can’t be prosecuted for condemning their children to a lifetime of abuse. Forced marriage should be criminalized in Canada.

A Citizenship and Immigration Canada guidebook states: “Parents are prohibited from forcing their daughters or sons into marriages against their will.” It’s time to use the criminal law to put teeth into that statement.